One of the best-known Yiddish expressions is ‘Gevalt, Yiddelech, Gevalt!', a phrase best translated as ‘catastrophe, Jews, catastrophe!’.

I would suggest that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition officially be named the Gevalt! Government. Listening to the utterances of our ministers, you would come to the conclusion that the State of Israel is about to be erased and the Jewish people are in danger of immediate extinction.

In fact, it is nowadays the bon ton to join the Gevalt! chorus. Those who say that all this panicking is irrational are considered to be unpatriotic. A true Zionist and a good Jew is supposed to be in constant dread and must brace for the ultimate fight for the Masada that Israel has become and that is under threat from everywhere.

Here is another way of looking at Israel’s situation: Israel is quite safe and has a lot of constructive options. Palestinians were never as willing to move ahead toward peace with Israel. In the long run, the new developments in the Arab world are likely to lead to more democracy and stability; Israel still has the option of normalizing its relationships with the Arab world that has now been on the table for almost nine years, through the Arab League Peace Initiative. This is also indicated by a new poll showing that two thirds of Egyptians favor maintaining peace with Israel.

This is not the assessment of some starry-eyed idealist. It is that of the hard-headed and daring former Mossad chief Meir Dagan. The brouhaha that ensued after he gave his assessment showed that the Gevalt! Government is incapable of living with level-headed, calm and rational thought.

While its constant fear-mongering about existential threats is at times almost comic, it unfortunately has the consequence to push Israel from one blunder to the next.

Let’s look at three instances:

One is Netanyahu’s constant warning that the world is delegitimizing Israel’s very existence. Shlomo Avineri, one of Israel’s most senior political scientists with a lot of experience in international relations has pointed out, that this is simply not true.

Except for Iran, its proxies and the extreme fringes of left-wing academia, nobody in the world says that Israel doesn’t have the right to exist: The free world is simply unwilling to put up with Israel’s settlement policy and continuing foot-dragging about a peace agreement with the Palestinians and the Arab world.

It’s rather clear why Netanyahu keeps spreading this disinformation and heating up fear. He can’t survive politically if he does the simple, straightforward thing: continuing negotiations with the Palestinians where the Olmert government stopped.

As the Palestine Papers leaked by Al Jazeera showed, the story that ‘there is no partner’ is ludicrous: The sides were actually rather close to an agreement. But Netanyahu keeps repeating that Palestinians have never accepted Israel’s existence, never mind the evidence to the contrary, because he needs to keep the level of fear high. At this point even his long-time supporter and ally Ron Lauder is getting sick and tired of Netanyahu’s inaction.

The second is the enormous noise that the government is making about the second Gaza flotilla as if it were a real threat to Israel. Stopping the first one was utterly irrational to begin with, and the damage done to Israel’s already shaky standing in the world was considerable.

What on earth will be the damage if the flotilla lands in Gaza? The overwhelming majority of the world thinks that the blockade on Gaza is inacceptable anyway. A few peace activists showing solidarity with Gaza’s population will cause Israel a lot less damage than another violent confrontation at sea.

But our ministers keep talking about this flotilla as if it were a major military attack endangering Israel. And the Netanyahu government is likely to turn the second flotilla into another major political debacle instead of just letting it pass by.

An interesting and less predictable utterance has come from a minister who generally doesn’t contribute to the general atmosphere of doom. In a panel on conversion, Justice Minister Ya'akov Neeman found it necessary to say that assimilation of world Jewry is fulfilling Hitler’s vision. Neeman pulls the darkest figure of Jewish history to indicate that the Jewish people is about to be wiped out.

Neeman’s statement is quite remarkable in its lack of respect for the vitality of Diaspora Jewry – and its factual falsehood: The most recent census showed that there are actually one million more Jews in the U.S. than the previously assumed figure of 6.25 million.

Jewish life in the US is flourishing in all respects: It is culturally rich; it is religiously diverse, and Jews contribute to all facets of American life, culture and economy. So why does Neeman feel the need to lament the disappearance of the Jewish people?

It seems that the mentality of the Netanyahu government is driving everybody connected to it out of their wits: They actually get to the point where they believe that Israel is under existential threat; that the Jewish people is about to disappear and that only crying Gevalt! means that you are a good Israeli and a good Jew.

This leads us to the final point: Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s statement that Israel is awaiting a ‘diplomatic tsunami’ in September has become something like an accepted truth in Israel, as if UN recognition of a Palestinian state threatens Israel’s existence.

Looking at this calmly one realizes that the maximum that can happen is that the UN will accept Palestine as a full member. This will indeed make Israel’s occupation of the West-Bank, any military presence and settlement activity officially illegal.

But it is quite simply wrong to say that this endangers Israel’s existence. I have argued a number of times in the past that Israel should actually endorse UN recognition of Palestine along the 1967 lines.

Such a UN resolution would give Israel an internationally recognized Western border, for the first time in its history, as Shlomo Avineri has now also pointed out. While this would mean the end of the dream of the greater Israel that quite a few members of Netanyahu’s coalition haven’t given up on, it would also mean the end of Hamas dream of abolishing the state of Israel – and hence would actually increase Israel’s long-term security and legitimacy.

But such rational thinking is highly unpopular in the current government, and it will continue to fight UN recognition, instead of engaging with it in constructive ways.

For those who are sick and tired of hearing ‘Gevalt, Yiddelech, Gevalt!’ and want to see what a constructive Israeli policy could look like, I strongly recommend looking at the Israeli Peace Initiative that includes former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, General Amram Mitzna, former Mossad Chief Danny Yatom and former heads of the Shin Bet Yaakov Peri and Ami Ayalon.

This piece & the one on delegitimization from Shlomo Avineri
yesterday argue that those in Israel making this argument (politicians,
media, comments below, ...) are ignoring the actual situation i.e. the
truth. This seems obvious, at least from a distance. The more
germane question is WHY. There seem to be two possible extreme
explanations, political expediency on one hand and delusional paranoia
on the other. Both articles point out that these folks are saying (in
fact shouting) things that cannot be supported by the facts. But both
articles leave unexplored what those doing the shouting actually
believe. Sadly the more comforting alternative is that the folks
talking about Gevalt/delegitimization are simply knowingly speaking
falsehoods. More disturbing is the possibility that a large segment of
the Israeli population actually believes these things. Given history,
I grant that it is understandable that those who are Jewish and/or
Israeli my react to circumstances in a paranoid way, however paranoid
delusions (believing the lies you tell yourself) when used as the
intellectual foundation under national and foreign policy will
eventually result in something that truthfully could be described as
Gevalt.

For example, there are several polls on Egyptian attitudes and they are
not consistent. The most reliable (Pew Global) contradicts the one cited
by Mr Strenger. In general the only thing that is reasonably certain is
that Israel will be less isolated in the region very soon, for one of
two reasons. Reason one, it makes an authentic peace acceptable to most
of its "adversaries" OR reason two, it ceases to exist.

This “oy gevalt” bleat adopted by Bibi, Avi, and the rest of
this wretched government actually serves them quite well. It gets them
lots of support and contributions from elderly (and rich) American Jews,
who remember the days when this argument had some validity. It’s
also useful to drum up support in the US Congress and among the
Christian community who are unfamiliar with the nuances of Middle East
politics, and who don’t want to appear anti-Semitic.

Whats the logic behind that?! you have the support of major powerful
western governments, you are more equiped and much more stronger than
your neighbours and these are occupied with their own local problems.
There is no logic at the moment: it is called Panic attacks!

The article is quite good. Just a little detail I'd like to point out.
Diasporic secular jewelry IS desappearing and will disappear in not
further than 40 years' time. I have no doubts about that. I work for a
"Tnuat Noar" and we lack people, a lot. Religious communities
are the only ones growing outside Israel. We all know that secular
jewish life outside Israel is sustainable no more! Aliya, orthodoxy or
assimilation, that's the question

Jews will patiently wait for Netanyahu or some other Israeli leader to
reach an acceptable peace agreement that takes into consideration
Israel's security and Jewish heritage. They are not going to give away
the house for a signed piece of paper because of impending
"political tsunamis" or "catastrophic demographic
threats". The sky is indeed not falling in.

as german Christian and someone with jewish ancestors and fines sense of
justice but also someone who lived 24 years in vengeance dictatorship
where one generation was gult of war crimes and 2 others suffered un
guilty gulag like oppression I developed fine sense of upcoming events.
My point is – this time it wont run well. it does not need to much
brain to see it Main reason seems that israelian mossad spend a life
time in fighting back superficially their neighbors by not asking the
one questions who is behind radicalization of any religion infiltrated
,sponsored fuehrers as lost everywhere and were blind that they from
inside are taken over . traitors well we know (former east German stasi
chief betrayed the son of an Auschwitz survivor and persecuted shameless
In America people have fine sense who developed and helped eventually al
Qaeda and planned very big on contract of bilderbergers and majesty to
destabilize and I can see they won’t allow it. Brzezinski with
nazi comments created tim osma alias osama bin laden, Kissinger was easy
on one million genocide in pol poth !and kravitz bp chairholder and
leader of trilateral commission made a movie about new division of
Germany after attack on petro companies. 6 month later happen in golf of
Mexico the disaster? The moss ad should make a logic based cleaning and
do a blow job for Ron Paul and everyone standing for peace liberty and
freedom and not play around from those who hitlerlike try to serve
monarchy and install NWO I think America won’t take dissolvment
no matter from where initiated and I also think it is enough now. When
you need a new director you can give me a call under 01-998769638 my
self i saw war suffering from bosnian war refugees . they are humans to.
when I become director i will dedicate my day and nigth in research for
betraitment of liberty and peace because of money and will hunt them
down- tell me something under your intel the country got weak ? so
more answers i dont need here - I go on logic and not sentiments . intel
means goodness

Israel's leaders love freedom of action as much as the next guy. For
Israel freedom of action can include some deadly and controversial
action that other nation would not even consider. There are two
requirements that must be met to achieve maximum freedom of action. (1)
Be facing multiple existential threats (2) have America onboard to
provide after action pollitical cover. Bibi has already satisfied the
requirements to maximize his options. Now he is ready to shed some blood.

All the Euroshits with their "tick tock September", and
"tick tock Iran's bomb" etc. The people with their feet on the
ground are the centrists and centre-right who realise the Euroshits are
a laughable bunch of anti-semites, the Islamists are primitive and the
likes of Haaretz concentrates their focus on all that is bad or inflame
things to look worse than they are.

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